Donald Trump Goes After The Free Press Yet Again

President Donald Trump’s longtime war against the “mainstream media” has become more aggressive in recent weeks.

Trump appeared to hint Wednesday morningon Twitter that he would like to challenge NBC’s “license” to broadcast after the outlet published an unflattering report about him. He claimed once again that the network was producing “fake” news.

With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!

Minutes earlier, Trump tweeted that NBC News “made up” a story about him requesting a “tenfold increase” to the U.S. nuclear arms supplies. The report suggested his alleged request prompted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to call Trump a “moron.” Both Tillerson and Trump have denied the allegations ofname-calling.

The Federal Communications Commission only licenses individual stations, not networks like NBC, according to its website. Local community members and competitors can dispute license renewals for network-affiliated stations, but the FCC hasn’t revoked a license in over 20 years, according to The Hill.

“This madcap threat, if pursued, would be blatant and unacceptable intervention in the decisions of an independent agency. The law does not countenance such interference,” said former Commissioner Michael Copps in a statement. “President Trump might be happier as emperor, but I think the American people would strip him of his clothes on this issue,” he added.

Trump’s “license” tweet is likely nothing more than an “empty threat,” Andrew Schwartzman, a communications lawyer with the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center, told Politico.

“The last thing that NBC is going to worry about is whether its broadcast licenses are in jeopardy,” Schwartzman said.

While NBC has taken the brunt of Trump’s recent anti-media vitriol, the outlet hasn’t been his only target. He trashed news outlets on Twitter at least 25 times in the last two weeks, falsely claiming yet again that The New York Times is “failing,” while accusing CNN of “disparaging” the first responders providing relief in Puerto Rico after hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Trump took his attacks even further last week when he suggested on Twitter that the Senate intelligence committee should investigate media companies.

Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended Trump during a news briefing hours after he tweeted that “so much” of the news was “just made up,” though she wouldn’t say whether he actually wanted a congressional investigation into media companies.